Moralizing DIY regional horror, Spirit's Revenge, might appeal to the so-bad-it's-good crowd that champions The Room and the Birdemic series — but it may not even reach that bar. Filmed cheaply and digitally in Nashville, Tennessee, it might find some support among regional collections or hometown horror fans.
The film opens with a prologue, apparently set in medieval times, though the use of colored-sheet backdrops and rudimentary costuming makes that hard to believe. In this scene, a female occultist is betrayed and murdered by her lover on her ritual pentagram — a scene meant to explain what follows in the present day.
Enter Zooey (Alex Van Zeelandt), a nasty businesswoman who’s drawn to the callow Craig (Joshua Cordle). Both are in unhappy marriages: Zooey's dull husband (Joseph Wilson) is older and Viagra-dependent, while Craig’s wife, Veronica (Amanda Ratliff), wants a baby — and Craig definitely doesn’t.
Meanwhile, a supernatural killer known only as “The Spirit” (wearing what appears to be a store-bought Grim Reaper Halloween costume) is on a rampage, slaughtering unfaithful couples. Local TV news breathlessly urges people to stay indoors.
Craig is tormented by nightmare hallucinations and, in case the message wasn’t clear, the Spirit makes “STOP CHEATING” appear everywhere — most notably on Zooey’s laptop at work. Despite the obvious warning signs, Zooey and Craig continue their affair and begin plotting to kill their inconvenient spouses. Also thrown into the mix are a werewolf and some cellphone-grade CGI flames.
On the bright side, the actresses are attractive, and lead Alex Van Zeelandt has a real talent for skirting the line of nudity without ever crossing it — a modern echo of the fan dancers from classic burlesque. Unfortunately, there’s no such grace in the R-rated swearing or the painfully clunky dialogue.
The twist ending is weak — the biggest surprise being that they even attempted one. Not recommended.